1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information sharing system, information sharing method, and connecting device for sharing information among multiple users.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, blackboards and whiteboards are used as a means to share information among multiple participants in a meeting, a lecture, or a class, etc. In recent years, there are shown signs of widespread use of an interactive whiteboard (hereinafter, referred to as an “IWB”) that displays thereon information written on a whiteboard as image data.
An IWB is configured as a so-called touch panel whose front writing surface is composed of a display device and a pointing device integrally and configured to output a signal according to the touch position. Furthermore, the IWB generally incorporates a central processing unit (CPU), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and a communication interface for performing network communication, and has the same functions as a computer.
The IWB acquires, for example, information written on the writing surface thereof by a user with a dedicated pen as image data by means of a touch panel function, and displays the image data on the display device composing the writing surface. Furthermore, the IWB can store the acquired image data in a memory or output the acquired image data to the outside through the communication interface. Moreover, the IWB can receive image data supplied from the outside through the communication interface and display the image data on the display device composing the writing surface.
Meanwhile, there has been increasing cases where an information sharing system is introduced into an educational establishment, etc. in recent years (see Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2012-519322). In an educational establishment, it is often the case that many users (students) are gathered in a specific place, such as a classroom, and share information. For example, a system in which multiple computers are interconnected by a network such as a local area network (LAN) is constructed, and a teacher and students are assigned the multiple computers connected to the network, respectively. Then, in this system, the teacher and students conduct a class, etc. while sharing information via the network through the use of the computers assigned to them.
The introduction of the above-described IWB into such an educational establishment makes it easier to share information, and is expected to achieve better educational outcomes. For example, an IWB is connected to a network, and information written on the IWB by a teacher can be transmitted to students' computers via the network and displayed on the students' computers, and information input from any student's computer can be displayed on the IWB.
However, conventionally, there is a problem that when an information sharing system is introduced into, for example, a classroom, it is necessary to construct a network system in the classroom in advance, which is costly. Furthermore, in this case, the information sharing system can be used only in the specific classroom where the network system has been constructed, and this is inconvenient.
Moreover, even when an IWB is connected to the already-constructed network system, a user is required to have a certain degree of knowledge about a network, and has to perform setting work on a network to connect the IWB; therefore, there is a problem that it is not easy to connect the IWB.
In view of the above, there is a need to make it easier to construct an information sharing system including an IWB.